McDonald's Apologizes and Will Pull This Tactless Ad About a Boy and His Dead Father

Approach to a sensitive topic goes awry

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UPDATE: Immediately after we published this story, a McDonald’s U.K. spokesperson confirmed that the chain had reversed course and decided to pull the ad.

“We can confirm today that we have taken the decision to withdraw our ‘Dad’ TV advert,” the statement read. “The advert will be removed from all media, including TV and cinema, completely and permanently this week.”

“It was never our intention to cause any upset,” the spokesperson added. “We are particularly sorry that the advert may have disappointed those people who are most important to us—our customers.

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